Klipsch LightSpeakers Replace Ordinary Bulbs with LED Light and Wireless Speakers

Klipsch is taking audio where it's never gone before: the light bulb.

At CES 2010, the loudspeaker powerhouse is debuting LightSpeaker, which is pretty much what it sounds like: a screw-in LED light with a built-in wireless speaker.

"In many cases, you just remove the light bulb and screw it in, and it's done," says Ed Haase, founder of Kadence Technologies, which developed the technology for LightSpeaker. "It looks very much like a regular downlight."

But it sounds like a regular loudspeaker, says Haase, who co-founded SpeakerCraft before leaving the company in 2000.

"Coming from the audio industry, it was really important for me that it sounds good too," he says.

About LightSpeaker

The LightSpeaker is larger than a typical light bulb, consuming the entire space within a standard can. But it screws into the socket like a regular bulb. Each unit contains:

• 10-watt LED (which can replace a 65-watt incandescent bulb)
• Speaker
• 20-watt amplifier
• Wireless technology from STS for streaming audio and controlling the speaker

Setting up the system couldn't be simpler. On the back of each speaker are two switches: one to designate the speaker as the left or right channel and one to designate the speaker as Zone 1 or Zone 2. Currently, only two zones are supported.

The hub of the system is a basic controller that accommodates two sources. From the base, or from a LightSpeaker handheld remote, users can select sources and zones and control the audio volume and lights.


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"You don't need anything other than what comes in the kit," says Haase. "The base unit automatically finds and pairs the speakers."

What has taken so long for the industry to create such a thing as a light speaker? Haase believes it wasn't possible in the past because of the limited real estate in a standard lighting can. Plus, the light would generate too much heat to share a metal can with a speaker. Today, small and cool-running LED lights are prevalent, and the wireless chipsets and digital amplifiers are smaller than ever before.

Is the Audio Any Good?

Klipsch, the exclusive U.S. distributor of LightSpeaker, saw the product for the first time when it was almost fully baked, according to president Paul Jacobs. The concept was appealing to the company before the demo, but the real test would be the quality of the audio.

"Our real core competency is: We're a loudspeaker company," says Jacobs. "We're a multibrand speaker company that participates in a lot of different brands and channels."

Whether new products are developed internally or outside of the company, there is give-and-take in the process, he says, "but acoustic performance we always want to have control over."

Even though the LightSpeaker does not include Klipsch's trademark horn design, the speaker still passed muster with Klipsch engineers. Kadence turned to STS for 2.4 GHz wireless audio technology, and Haase says Kadence has optimized the chipset with its own technology. "That's what the last three years of development have been," he says.

Haase says that audio distributed to each zone is "100-percent synchronized," with no buffering in the system. Although transmission times may vary when speakers are spaced far apart, he says he has never experienced the kind of echo effect that can plague multiroom audio.

STS already is used in Klipsch's SC series of wireless speakers, as well as wireless audio products from Creative, Acoustic Research, Philips, Sony, Panasonic, Bang & Olufsen and B&W (see the complete list from STS).

Audio Capacity

Currently, the LightSpeaker system supports two zones. If you look at the spec sheet, the entire system will support eight LightSpeakers in total. You can use all eight on a single zone or divvy them up.

In reality, the system should support more than eight speakers, according to Haase.

"We've actually tested 12 on the system, but we recommend eight for best results," he says. "If you are in an environment relatively free of other wireless systems, you might find that 12 will work quite well."

Why Use RF and Not Powerline?

Most of the buzz surrounding wireless audio in the past 12 months came from Russound (Collage) and NuVo (Renovia), both of which are using the HomePlug powerline spec for distributing music over the home's existing electrical wires.

Techies from both companies — and of course members of the HomePlug Alliance — swear that the powerline is dramatically more reliable for distributing audio. Haase begs to differ. In his own powerline tests, he started noticing signal degradation after four speakers.

"We've tested it with the best powerline chips, and it is susceptible to too many interruptions," he says.

Remember to Keep the Lights On

Naturally, the LightSpeakers require power to operate, so if someone accidentally flips off the switch, the music will go dark. Even so, the device "operates very well with most dimmers we've tried it with," Haase says. Even if you dim by 75 percent or so, the tunes will keep on coming.

Of course, if you want to dim the LED in the LightSpeaker, you have to use the special remote. The connected hardwired dimmer will not do the trick. (See FAQs)

Bringing LightSpeakers to Market

Not everyone at Klipsch apparently agrees with the company's go-to-market strategy. Klipsch is in the high-volume business, so a limited roll-out runs counter to the company's business practices. Klipsch will take baby steps into the LightSpeaker business.

"We want to do a small test of the product with about a half-dozen types of customers in a limited number of storefronts," Jacobs says. "We love the product and everyone [vendors] so far has wanted all the inventory we can deliver."

Among the first few resellers are a high-end specialty A/V retailer, a high-end appliance chain, a lighting chain, an online store and a custom installation company.

Klipsch currently is building kiosks and other displays to push the product. After a 30-day test starting in January, Klipsch will evaluate the preliminary launch plans.

"We want to make sure it is a well thought-out program for customers and that people end up using it," Jacobs says.

He suspects that a broader rollout will begin in March. Klipsch will sell the LightSpeaker in a kit with two speakers, one base station and one RF remote for $599. Additional speakers will retail for $249 each.

Haase notes the added green value of LightSpeaker: "If you buy just the LED light, you would pay probably $90 to $140 each. If you replace incandescent lights, it can pay for itself in five years."

Next up? Jacobs expects the LightSpeaker line eventually to include a wireless subwoofer, battery-operated wireless rock speaker for the outdoors, and a compatible wireless iPod dock.

LightSpeaker FAQs

Ed Haase answers these follow-up questions from CE Pro.

LightSpeaker currently supports two zones and eight speakers. Is that limitation due to the wireless capacity?

The reason for two zones is cost and time. I’m sure you will see products in the near future with four to ten zones and more sources as well.

What do you recommend for maximum distance between the hub and the speakers?

Distance is always a difficult topic, so many companies exaggerate. I could for example say that if you use it in a gymnasium (no walls, or fireplaces or book shelves or concrete floors, etc.) we have tested the system up to 350 feet.

But I don’t think this is a realistic way to rate it. If we did it that way then many of our customers would be disappointed, just like they are with all of the other wireless systems out there.

Instead we’ve decided to give a conservative number of 45 to 50 feet. Given the structure of most homes, nearly everyone will have really good results if they use this distance.

Maybe this is a bad decision; maybe everyone will look at the box and pass us over for the one that says 1,500 feet, but I don’t think so. I think people are smarter than that.

Are there any plans for an IR input in order to use a universal remote to control the system?

It’s an idea I really like.

The current remote is RF so it will work pretty much anywhere in your house and you can use up to four remotes on the system.

There’s a balance we have to reach with the complexity of the system and the customers we’re trying to reach.

My entire professional career has been about finding ways to bring music to people in all the places they want to listen to it. There’s a huge amount of technology wrapped up in the LightSpeaker and It has been a challenge to keep it at a price nearly everyone can afford.

Will the LightSpeaker fit into most of the standard lighting cans?

There are really two types of install: One we call the “easiest install” and the other a “SimpleTab install”.

Nearly all lighting cans have trim rings and most have reflectors as well. Some of these are configured so that the LightSpeaker purchaser can simply remove the light bulb and screw in the LightSpeaker. This type of install only requires that the opening in the trim ring (and any included reflector) be large enough for the LightSpeaker to fit through to the Edison socket. When the LightSpeaker will not fit through the existing trim ring, it is necessary to remove it and use the included LightSpeaker trim ring.

The second type of install, the “SimpleTab install” occurs because there is no specific or standard size for a ceiling can. Even the ones designated 5- and 6-inch actually vary in diameter by up to one-half inch. Additionally we have identified over 60 different internal designs for these lighting fixtures including a wide discrepancy in depth and methods of adjusting the depth. All of these variations dictate the need for a flexible mounting system — one that is fast, simple, secure, and will adapt on-the-fly to the different situations presented within a purchasers home.

In the SimpleTab mounting there are three flexible metal tabs on the back of each LightSpeaker. Each one will swing out, effectively increasing their diameter, to accommodate the different diameters and depths of the many available lighting fixtures. Rotating each tab out to cover the letter “A” will set the LightSpeaker’s mounting to fit most 6” cans. Rotating the tabs out to letter “B” will set it to fit into a 5” can. The letter “C” is the shipping position and also the position used when the LightSpeaker is installed in a lamp or, if the customer wants, a bare (exposed) Edison socket.

There is a third mounting system, which will be available as an accessory; it is an adaptor for a lamp that will help disperse the light in a manner more consistent with a lampshade and also disperse the upper audio frequencies in a pattern better suited to a lamps lower position in a room.


Learn more about retrofit technologies in the Retrofit track at EHX Spring.
Electronic House Expo Spring 2010: The New Opportunities Show, March 25-27, 2010, Orlando, Fla.
Smart Energy | Commercial | Home Health Tech | Recurring Revenue | Digital Content | Retrofit
FREE CEDIA training with New Opportunities Pass | http://www.ehxweb.com

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